Anticipating the question in your head, I'm not saying Raheem is close to being equal to one of the greatest players of all time – that would be laughable and absurd slightly premature. But the way he plays, particularly when Rodgers puts him behind the strikers in the diamond formation, is starting to remind me of some of the things Messi does. In a way, you could say that playing on top of the "diamond" Raheem kind of plays as a "false nine" – because when he gets the ball Suarez and Sturridge often move closer to the wings in order not to block his way upfield and give him passing options. So suddenly the "diamond" starts looking more like Barca's system with a "false 9" and two wing-forwards, where Suarez and Sturridge play the roles of Neimar and Pedro (or Alexis) and Sterling "becomes" Messi.
Early in the season Raheem was instructed to play like our version of Theo Walcott – time his runs and use his pace to run in behind the defensive line. This is perfectly fine and effective (and should have led to a goal in the away game vs Man City – still cannot forgive the bloody linesman), but not very interesting – lots of wingers and strikers in the Premier League do that. But turns out Raheem has something more valuable in his locker. Now he started picking up the ball deep and running AT defenders – and every time he does it defenders back off and retreat or get beaten. Like Messi, Raheem has great acceleration, balance and surprising strength. He can beat defenders from both sides and he can pass too. It will be fascinating to follow his progress; if he keeps developing this side of his game he will become much more than a fine winger.
There is nothing more dangerous and unsettling for defenders than players driving directly at them with the ball, and when this happens not on the wing but through the middle it's far, far more dangerous. On the wing, if you tackle a player successfully the ball goes into touch, if you mistime it you get the kind of free kick that's slightly more dangerous than a corner and if you get beaten, the player might cross the ball or shoot from a tight angle – all relatively low-percentage chances. When an attacking player runs at defenders through the middle, the possible scenarios are far more dangerous for the defending side. The attacking player will either run on goal past the defender, or be brought down for a free-kick in a really dangerous position or they can shoot using the defender as a screen for the keeper. Even after a successful tackle there is a chance the ball will bounce to another attacking player and they could exploit the momentary confusion. I think running at defenders with speed and strength through the middle is the most effective weapon in the modern game and players who can do that are increasingly more highly valued and sought after. For the past few transfer windows, Rodgers was trying his best to buy this kind of player, but maybe it's a stroke of luck that the club's failure to land such a player gave him an idea and a necessity to try developing the young Sterling into this kind of a player (not before trying to do the same thing – and failing – with Moses). Like I said, it will be fascinating to follow Sterling's progress next season. Maybe he can be our Messi after all.
Early in the season Raheem was instructed to play like our version of Theo Walcott – time his runs and use his pace to run in behind the defensive line. This is perfectly fine and effective (and should have led to a goal in the away game vs Man City – still cannot forgive the bloody linesman), but not very interesting – lots of wingers and strikers in the Premier League do that. But turns out Raheem has something more valuable in his locker. Now he started picking up the ball deep and running AT defenders – and every time he does it defenders back off and retreat or get beaten. Like Messi, Raheem has great acceleration, balance and surprising strength. He can beat defenders from both sides and he can pass too. It will be fascinating to follow his progress; if he keeps developing this side of his game he will become much more than a fine winger.
There is nothing more dangerous and unsettling for defenders than players driving directly at them with the ball, and when this happens not on the wing but through the middle it's far, far more dangerous. On the wing, if you tackle a player successfully the ball goes into touch, if you mistime it you get the kind of free kick that's slightly more dangerous than a corner and if you get beaten, the player might cross the ball or shoot from a tight angle – all relatively low-percentage chances. When an attacking player runs at defenders through the middle, the possible scenarios are far more dangerous for the defending side. The attacking player will either run on goal past the defender, or be brought down for a free-kick in a really dangerous position or they can shoot using the defender as a screen for the keeper. Even after a successful tackle there is a chance the ball will bounce to another attacking player and they could exploit the momentary confusion. I think running at defenders with speed and strength through the middle is the most effective weapon in the modern game and players who can do that are increasingly more highly valued and sought after. For the past few transfer windows, Rodgers was trying his best to buy this kind of player, but maybe it's a stroke of luck that the club's failure to land such a player gave him an idea and a necessity to try developing the young Sterling into this kind of a player (not before trying to do the same thing – and failing – with Moses). Like I said, it will be fascinating to follow Sterling's progress next season. Maybe he can be our Messi after all.
